The Gilded Ones

Definitely a 4.5.

CW: body mutilation, torture, talk of past rape

I have been waiting to read this book since the first time I saw that gorgeous cover. The color scheme and the stunning young Black girl on the cover impressed me immediately and I was so happy when I got the advance copy. But when the release date got pushed to this year, I decided to pick it up closer to when it comes out. And this was wonderful.

I started reading this the day after I sprained my ankle and was confined to the bed, so I really needed a good distraction. And this one turned out to be so good. The story starts off with a bang and it never slows down, keeping us engrossed in it throughout. The mythology and culture of this world is both fascinating and brutal, but just as we think we know something, we are bombarded with more twists and revelations and I couldn't even imagine taking a break from the book. The writing also felt very personal and full of feeling, making us deeply invested in the proceedings and get emotional whenever something happened. The author also never shies away showing the cruelty of the people in this world, especially towards women whom they consider impure and it's horrifying to read, but it's also a tale of strength and survival.

Deka is such an amazingly written character. She is a young woman who has kind of been an outcast all her life and just wants to below. But then her life is upended and she is put through such ordeals that it is very despairing, but it also drives her to become a survivor. And after losing the only people she knows in such a brutal manner, the bonds she makes with her fellow survivors was a joy to watch. Her absolute trust of her fellow alaki women, who have equally suffered, and the way they all derive strength from each other was immensely satisfying to read. I am especially in love with her beautiful friendship with Britta who is a ray of sunshine among all the darkness. The bonds these women slowly form with male recruits who initially hate them is also very organically developed in the story, and it never felt contrived. And Keita and all his friends made great additions to a story which was otherwise full of misogynistic men, wanting to completely control women.

The author mentions in her note that this was her story about patriarchy and it's vivid in every single page. This is the story of what happens when men decide they can't have women be in any powerful positions, and what kind of lengths they will go to convince the whole population that women are meant to be subservient only. But this is also about women who can change their understanding about themselves if given the opportunity, and take their destiny into their own hands when they stand together, along with some men who are not scared to be supportive of them.

In conclusion, this is a stunning portrayal of what a brutal patriarchal fantasy world can look like, and what women can achieve when they decide they've had enough. It's a story of resilience, survival and strong friendships which will definitely leave a mark on you. I feel lucky to have read such a marvelous debut and I can't recommend it enough.

I loved the Gilded Ones and cannot wait to read more. The story and world were utterly unique and kept me guessing throughout.

My one and only complaint was the pacing. This is a personal preference, obviously, but I prefer books that are more character-focused than having non-stop action. The Gilded Ones is definitely in the non-stop action category. I would have liked the book to be split in two and spent more time with the characters. The reader is told the girls have bonded and are a ‘found family,” but I honestly didn't feel that connection except between Deka and Briseis. Even Keita, who is the romantic interest, doesn't feel like a fully fleshed-out character – we barely know him. (I still liked him, though, it just felt like missed potential).

That said, hopefully, there can be more character development in the next book! And hopefully, that book comes soon!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Although I liked the book overall, I don't think I enjoyed it enough. There were a few times I considered abandoning it altogether.

The message about the plight of women in a patriarchal society is important, but the presentation here is very on the nose. The story takes a long time before it gets to the eventual climax, which is then crammed into the final chapters, making for a very unbalanced reading experience.

The world building and magic system were interesting. As Deka left her small town and ventured out, we discovered more and more about it. The pace of the revelations was well done. It ended in a good place, so the book feels complete, but it also feels like there is more to the story as well. My only complaint is that some of the messages of the text were a little heavy handed.

The idea of this book is amazing, brilliant and I wanted to love it.
But, I have so many problems with this book.

The writing style was bland. There was no emotion from the MC, and I wanted to DNF at page 100, but as this was a buddy read, I pushed through.

Never can I regain those moments back in my life.

First we have the Akeli, who can't die but can only if they receive a true death. Akeli are always women and they have to do a ritual of purity, when they reach 16, they cut themselves with a knife to see if their blood runs gold.

The theme of this book is pretty dark, I'd call it Grimdark and yet the characters, bar one, are happy and jolly naïve girls. It doesn't add up with the original theme. And, the author decides to tell us these bad things that have happened, with an empty attempt at trauma afterwards, instead of show. I understand it's a YA, but unless it's a MG book, which you wouldn't put these themes in anyway, it doesn't add up.


The pacing is so rushed I was left feeling like I've been in a bouncy castle and thrown around. It's jarring, not the smooth fast paced it was meant to be.

Characters.

The story is told from Deka's POV and the author made a terrible choice. It should have been told from Belcalis POV as she has the trauma, the motivation to go through with this revolution. Deka is doing as she's told and downright a BORING piece of fish.
I HATED Britta. The way she wrote her speech, as the only one with a farmgirl's tone, was jarring. I don't need you to remind me every damned time that she speaks that it's in an accent. Plus her personality is being loyal. That's it.
The side characters were there simply to get Deka out of trouble and I hated it.
Belcalis is the only character that held my interest but we don't see much of her.

Deka, boring, bland, but also her personality is all over the place. One moment she is piously religious, the next she renounces but then she's back to being religious again. She says things and is told things but later she conveniently forgets because of PLOT!

Honestly, I felt like I was being treated like a dump little kid who couldn't add up 1+2.

PLOT:

The whole POINT of this plot was to for White Hands, (the fuck is that name? ) to keep a secret from the other Aleki when she COULD HAVE TOLD THEM FROM THE BEGINNING!

‘I can't tell you now, you aren't ready'

BULLSHIT!

There was absolutely no reason for that to be kept a secret as, from their vantage point in the desert, where they are being looked after by a band of boy warriors they are training with, and a bunch of Shadow assassins (which are women and in this society the women can't have any say so that's contradicting) it's a far better position for the revolution instead of killing their own kind to have this big battle/showdown with the Emperor.

Talking of the Emperor. He let White Hands out of her prison to use her, was foolish and stupid and only served the plot.

Honestly, White Hands shouldn't have been needed in this story.

WORLDBUILDING;

It was bland and I wanted more. Not to mention the animals were weird and we're given no explanation. If Deka knew of this stuff, I understand and we still need an explanation, but if she didn't we still need an explanation and her curiosity.

This book would have served better in 3rd POV

SubPlot;s. The author set up a subplot with the Deathshrieks and I expected more from that, but it was just left to the wind.

Some of the scenes were pointless, if not downright stupid and only to serve an emotional connect which I never felt as it was done so poorly. Like Kieta was sent away only to be caught by the Emperor. STUPID!

And the Love Interest. She tells us they hang out, ‘embraced' is used way too much but she never meant she kissed him. Then the kiss scene arrives and she has a severed head and the way it's described...
‘Sparks fly across my skin'

Fucking WERID. Who does that?

And the Love interest was forced. Kieta was there to serve plot, there was no connection because we weren't shown. One moment he hated all Aleki, as everyone does, the next it's just gone? There is no explanation for it.

I could have looked past the Chosen One Trope if for the fact that she didn't put in a resurrection trope, and Britta just comes back alive because she commanded it? I hate it soooooo much!

THE ENDING;

What the hell was the ending? The character's captured for ‘emotional connecting and conflict' were swept away almost instantly so what was the point in that? And the battle. Apparently the emperor can now move really fast? And he beat Deka, but then she rose up and just killed him? WTF? It was over so quickly. And everyone just stood by and watched? I expected much more.

But again, THIS WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN NESACARY IF WHITE HANDS HAD TOLD THE FUCKING TRUTH IN THE FIRST PLACE.


There are so many problems with this book. The themes handles, like sexisms', torture, rape were done so poorly and brushed to the side, I can't imagine what people who have suffered through that would feel.

I really do not recommend, and if I could give it minus stars, I would.

This needs a whole new round of edits to make it even flow nicely.

Omg this book! Where do I even begin to review this book??

This is hands down one of my favorite reads of the year and I CANNOT wait for the sequel. Not necessarily because, for once, this book had a huge and paining cliffhanger at the end which had me wishing for a time machine to fast forward to the sequel's release date, no. But more because I want to know how the story continues in this fantastic world with these beloved characters which made their way into my heart!
The Gilded Ones is an excellent debut! You know, when sometimes you read a book and you can tell a bit it is a debut novel because the writing seems a bit bumpy or the characters seem flat? Well, this is definitely NOT the case here! While reading this book, I didn't even notice it is a debut at all. When I finished it, I literally thought “wow, what a powerful debut. I'm so impressed!”.

Besides the unique storyline I absolutely adored each character which had been reflected by me laughing and crying with them haha. I also enjoyed the fact that Deka's, our main character, personal and magical progression had the spotlight over the romance. Yes, there was a subtle romance but not so much that it would hurt the story or pace of the book. It was implemented perfectly.

If you love a diverse cast of characters, a unique ya fantasy story and good writing style, I definitely recommend this book to you!

The plot was predictable, and the world building was very unique. The romance felt forced and rushed, unrealistic and made me cringe or want to vomit at times. The ending felt unrealistic and chaotic at times, but overall wrapped up nicely. This book was a quick read and the writing was simple, but I didn't like how people were described as girlish, or when her long hair was cut off it was described as losing her femininity. The book wasn't bad but it wasn't good either.

The main thing that bothered me throughout the book was how much different aspects reminded me of other mainstream things. It was so similar I couldn't not think “wow, this is like xyz” which really took away from the book. Overall, I really enjoyed the last 1/3 of the book once ideas were more established.

DNF–I got about 75 pages into this and I was just like “yeah yeah I get it, these oppressed warrior women are going to rise up and destroy their patriarchal oppressors and reclaim their demon blood, and honestly good for them.” And I had a bunch of holds come in that I was actively excited about, and I realized: oh yeah I don't have to finish this if I don't want to! Sounds fake but is true!!

That said I feel like I read enough to get the gist to recommend to teen readers looking for fantasy/dystopian books. I think it's a fine choice for fans of like Red Queen, Children of Blood and Bone, Cinderella is Dead, etc. Like a Handmaids Tale Jr but with an African mythology inspiration multiplied by Dauntless Faction from Divergent. Lots of teens want that! I just wasn't in the mood!

The plot for this book was fantastic. I really enjoyed the core moments and reveals and it (selfishly) upsets me that I will never get to experience this plot as an adult fantasy because I loved it so much and YA is just not my favourite genre.

It does however make me very excited to see what else Namina Forna will come out with. Once the writing style develops and Namina trusts their audience a little more to draw their own conclusions rather than spelling out every thought and discovery (often quite a while after it becomes very obvious to the reader) I think we will see some truly fantastic work being produced. I can't wait to watch Namina's journey and I'll definitely be continuing with this series.

Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in fear and anticipation of the blood ceremony that will determine whether she will become a member of her village. Already different from everyone else because of her unnatural intuition, Deka prays for red blood so she can finally feel like she belongs.

But on the day of the ceremony, her blood runs gold, the color of impurity–and Deka knows she will face a consequence worse than death.

Then a mysterious woman comes to her with a choice: stay in the village and submit to her fate, or leave to fight for the emperor in an army of girls just like her. They are called alaki–near-immortals with rare gifts. And they are the only ones who can stop the empire's greatest threat.

This is a good debut novel, especially if you're a feminist. The writing is simple for a YA fantasy. I gave it 4 stars because I found 2 major discrepancies.